Have gold, well-traveled

Deepa Bharath

You can work 10 years to be the best swimmer in the world, win three

gold medals and shatter world records in an Olympic meet. But you

still need a certain element of luck to bring those medals back home.

It’s a lesson Aaron Peirsol, the 21-year-old Newport Beach

Olympian, learned the hard way when the duffel bag he had packed his

most precious medals in didn’t show up on the conveyor belt in

Frankfurt, Germany.

Ensign Middle School students listened with rapt attention

Thursday afternoon, some with jaws dropped, as a smiling Peirsol

narrated the story rather casually. He spoke from the floor of the

very gym where he played dodge ball and basketball as a kid.

The horror story about the lost medals had a happy ending.

“All of United [Airlines] was looking for that bag,” Peirsol said

as everyone laughed. “I got my medals back two weeks ago.”

With that, Peirsol walked up to a table and pulled the gold medals

out of a small bag.

“Here they are,” he said, holding up the gleaming hardware.

The young people sitting on the bleachers broke out into loud

cheers and thunderous applause.

It was a memorable afternoon for Peirsol’s teachers, too. Ensign

Middle School art teacher Joan Stipe remembers talking to Peirsol

nine years ago, when she bumped into him in Irvine.

She was surprised to see him in Irvine, she said.

“He told me he was out there swimming,” Stipe said. “Then he told

me, ‘I’m going to go to the Olympics.’”

Stipe never forgot those words.

Dressed casually in a black, full-sleeve Rip Curl T-shirt, cargo

pants and sandals, Peirsol was calm and composed as he talked about

his medal-winning efforts in Athens, Greece.

But it all really began where he stood Thursday, Peirsol told the

students.

“The realization that I could do this came to me when I was about

your age,” he said. “It all started for me right here.”

It took a lot of dedication, commitment and perseverance, Peirsol

said.

“People can tell you how to dedicate yourself,” he said. “But you

have to find it within yourself to bring that out.”

The speech wasn’t all serious but wasn’t a motivational speech

either.

Peirsol opened the floor up to questions.

Up went eighth-grader Victor Done’s hand.

“Can I shake your hand?” he yelled, raising his voice over the

melee.

“You want to shake my hand?” Peirsol asked. “You can shake my hand

right now.”

The boy with long, platinum-blond hair bounded down the bleachers

onto the hardwood floor and shook Peirsol’s hand as his schoolmates

cheered.

After he shook his hero’s hand, Victor turned around to his

friends and pumped his fists in the air with an exultant: “Yes!”

Peirsol also walked around showing the gold medals to the

students. Many reached out to touch them.

Junior high somehow seems different after all these years, Peirsol

said after the speech.

“Everything seems smaller now,” he said. “The gym, the building --

it all used to look bigger when I was a kid here.”

Having a former student who has achieved so much so soon sends out

a strong message to young people, said Barbara Wagner, who used to be

Peirsol’s science teacher.

“I tell my kids it’s not too early to think about what you want to

do in life,” she said. “[Peirsol] is a shining example of what you

can achieve if you start thinking early.”

The special assembly was a surprise for the students, said parent

Angela Elbus, who arranged for Peirsol’s appearance.

Eighth-grader Ali Uhl found out about it, like everyone else,

during first period.

“I called my mom and asked her to bring my camera,” she said. “I’m

a big fan. I watched him throughout the Olympics.”

It’s important for children to understand what they are capable of

achieving, Elbus said.

“We have such talented kids here,” she said. “It’s important for

them to know their own value and the possibilities.”

* DEEPA BHARATH is the enterprise and general assignment reporter.

She may be reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at

[email protected].